The World Is Their Classroom

Photo by Carl Socolow '77.

Two class of 2018 members awarded competitive study-abroad scholarships

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

Ana Gamino ’18 wants to improve the lives of women and families of color. She has a deep understanding of Latina-American culture and life, both as Latin American, Latino & Caribbean studies major, with a minor in women’s, gender & sexuality studies, and as a young woman who identifies as Mexican/Latina. But after taking a class on colonialism in Latin America, she wanted to dig deeper into the struggles that women in other countries face. This spring she’s living that dream, with help from a State Department grant.

Gamino is one of two Dickinson students who are studying abroad with help from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships. Bestowed by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and named for a retired New York congressman and former chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee, the scholarship provides up to $5,000 to help prepare students for careers in a global economy by defraying the costs of education abroad.

Photo courtesy of Ana Gamino '18.

A Posse Foundation scholar from Pasadena, California, Gamino was awarded $3,000 in Gilman funds to study in São Paulo, Brazil, through the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) liberal-arts program, which is supplemented by a CIEE $1,700 Global Access Initiative grant. During her six months abroad, she'll stay with a host family, go on multiple CIEE excursions and take university classes led entirely in Portuguese—all experiences geared toward enriching her understanding of global women’s issues, as she prepares for a career as a nutritionist serving at-risk communities.

Fellow class of 2018 member and Posse scholar Tyree Grant (law & policy) also will study abroad this spring with aid from the Gilman program. A student worker, resident advisor, club basketball player and community volunteer from the Bronx, New York, Grant was awarded $4,500 to study in Copenhagen, Denmark. There, he'll have an opportunity to take intensive classes in Danish language and culture and two course-integrated study tours in Western Europe as learns about legal policies and rights in different parts of the world.

Photo courtesy of Tyree Grant '18.

Experiences like these are the hallmarks of the Gilman program, which makes foreign study and internships available to students who may otherwise not be able to go abroad. On their return to the U.S., awardees give back to the program by sharing their experiences by speaking with school or community groups about the Gilman program and education abroad, or by creating blogs, vlogs or other creative projects.

According to Katie DeGuzman, associate director of education abroad, the fact that two students are going abroad with Gilman funding this year says much about the study-abroad programs at Dickinson, which have offered education-abroad programs for more than 50 years, encourage study in off-the-beaten-path locations, operate global research and study centers and involve students in all majors. “We’re committed to providing a study-abroad experience that is the right fit for every student,” she says, “and the Gilman program supports that mission.”

Grant adds that he's honored to be a part of it. "It just proves that no matter where you come from or what obstacles are in your way, you can achieve great things through hard work and dedication," he says.